Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Deana Barnhart’s Gearing Up to Get an Agent Blog Fest.(GUTGAA)-Thirteen Things about Mia Celeste

Albert Einstein defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again
and expecting different results.”

In an
effort to keep you and I from falling into an insanity rut, I’ve decided to
combine my typical Thursday Thirteen Meme with something different—Deana
Barnhart’s Gearing Up to Get an Agent Blog Fest.(GUTGAA)

Week
One of GUTGAA kicks off with a Meet and Greet, where writers connect with
readers, agents and fellow writers. We share tidbits about our writing routines
and aspirations. Deana has thoughtful provided questions and since I’m a fan of
Thursday Thirteen, can guess how many I’ve chosen to answer?

Where do you write? I have a laptop
so I can write anywhere.

Quick. Go to your writing space, sit down and look to your
left. What is the first thing you see? My writing kitten. I’m trying to
train him to curl up next to me while I write. So far, I’m not that
successful. He’s playing with a yarn toy, looking cute and being a
distraction.

Favorite time to write? Mornings
after my children go to school.

Drink of choice while writing? Tea.

What was your inspiration for your latest manuscript? The
concept of my novel Dark Bringer came from a childhood game I used to play
before bed where I’d imagine the darkness was real and would take link up
to take different shapes.

Do experiences in your daily life influence your stories?
Definitely. When a storm knocked out our power for a few days, I realized
how reliant I am on electricity. This birthed the second half of Dark
Bringer, how regular people would use electrical light to keep the dark at
bay.

When writing , do you listen to music? Sometimes. I’m
a fan of mood music, instrumental background stuff when I write.

Do you write with others? Sometimes, when I’m doing the
first draft I’ll take part in writing challenges where we type as many
words as we can during a time limit.

Do you use a computer or a pencil/pen? Computer.

What’s your
favorite writing craft book? I read a lot of craft books so my favorite
one changes, but my currently it’s Being a Writer by Dorothea Brande.

Is there a
writing resource site you’d recommend? Yes, here’s one a friend shared
with me recently: http://thebookshelfmuse.blogspot.com/

And another
site that’s fun is: http://iwl.me/ Where you
get to compare your writing with a famous authors.

What's your most valuable writing tip? Keep at it.
Each time you write, you improve.

Well, you’ve read my answers, but
I’m always collecting advice and suggestions? Do you have a writing tip for me?
A site I should visit? Please share.

Gotta love writing kittens ... until they start pawing at the keyboard. mine usually sits near me, but if he wants my attention he gently taps me on the arm with his paw, like "hey." It's cute but distracting.

It took me a long time to switch over to typing rather than writing. My reason for that is a long story and a sad nod to all scam publishers, so I won't get into that. But, I switched and only occasionally use my favorite pencil and pens to write entire chapters. I do, however, love my index cards, beautiful notebooks and dazzling paper for notes and whatnot:) Oh, and hello from GUTGAA:)

Hi Mia! So great to meet you and thanks for stopping by my blog (thinkingtoinking). To answer your question, I'm originally from Dallas. Texas people are crazy loyal - I have to admit I strike up a conversation with people I see wearing Texas gear. I live in California now, so it's like seeing a little sliver of home.

I just checked out the writing site - how fun! Apparently I write like Chuck Palaniuk...whoever that is! Thanks for sharing!

SStokes, Yeah, I guess Texas people are loyal. It's kinda cool. And I'm impressed you write like Chuck Palaniuk. He wrote The Fight Club and lots of other stories. When I took the I WRITE LIKE challenge, I was paired with Stephen King. Grin. I only wish I wrote that well.

I have an entire room of my house dedicated to my writing and voice acting - I call it the Word Lounge because studio feels pretentious and office feels too corporate - but where do I write most of my stuff? Sitting on my bed with my laptop, surrounded by my dogs.

Haha! I bet training a cat is a lot like training a rabbit. It's doable, but not always easy. If anything they train you! Dunno about your kitty, but food is a big motivator for Gus. He's still got a mind of his own, but at least I can get him to cooperate so long as I've got noms in my hand. ;)

Your WIP sounds fascinating. :)

My writing tip for today: Write what you love, but push yourself outside your comfort zone once in a while and try something new. You might just surprise yourself! :)

Hey :) thought I would pop by and take a peek at your blog. As for sharing tea..... I'd have to say my favourite is a little boring, orange pekoe with a little bit of milk. However, if you can find the brand King Cole, you've found gold, it's delicious!

I love that you have a "writing kitten"! I have two spazzy furballs. I have known them to occasionally sit on my lap, but more often the spend their time chasing each other across my keyboard. Nice to meet you!

Your idea for Dark Bringer sounds really interesting. Love how different parts were inspired by different things! I don't believe I've heard of the resource book you mentioned, so will have to look it up. Thanks for stopping by!

Hi Mia, thank you so much for your feedback on my PitchPolish entry (Tendril). I love the name The Otherworld Diner - it's very Twilight Zone cool.I'm going to go "follow" you now. Come say hi on my blog when the GUTGAA craziness has passed. I just started the whole blogging thing in August - feeling a bit behind the old 8ball.http://rhiannwynnnolet.blogspot.com/

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